The three-time Oscar nominee had been the studio's first choice to play Doctor Strange in director Scott Derrickson's ("Sinister") movie about the mystic superhero and it seemed like a done deal in August.

Without a crystal ball, it's difficult to see who will don the hero's Cloak of Levitation, but Jared Leto, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jack Huston had previously been rumored to be in consideration.

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Fans of the Sorcerer Supreme, first created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1963, have known since March that magic was in the air. Stephen Strange - the surgeon who becomes Doctor Strange after learning the mystic arts - is name-checked by a villain in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier."

"The way that 'Thor,' 'Avengers' and now certainly 'Guardians of the Galaxy' tap into that cosmic side, it will be great to go into the world of Doctor Strange and the supernatural realm," Feige added.